The Enugu State Government has announced plans to reopen one lane of the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway bridge by December 24.
Gerald Otiji, the State Commissioner for Works, made this revelation during a briefing for the press following the State Executive Council meeting at the Government House in Enugu on Friday.
On November 9, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State had announced that the Federal Government would begin reconstruction work on the collapsed bridge. Otiji mentioned that the reconstruction would commence with palliative work on one lane of the bridge to ensure its usability within the next 10 days.
He also mentioned that the Artisan Cattle Market Bridge is being reconstructed by the Federal Ministry of Work in collaboration with the Enugu State Ministry of Works.
“With this, we can direct all the trucks to ply the road instead of coming into the state capital. We are also having a traffic management team that will help to control traffic in the state,” he said.
Addressing the issue of water supply, the Commissioner urged Enugu residents to be patient with the government, assuring them that every effort would be made to restore water to their taps. Otiji attributed the stoppage in water reticulation to damage and burst pipes and apologized for any inconvenience caused to residents.
He explained that the pipes being excavated were the ones laid by Dr. Michael Okpara, the Premier of the South-East region, approximately 50 years ago.
